Moses

When God called Moses to be his representative during a dark hour in Israel’s history, Moses’ response was less than compliant. We might sympathize with his reluctance to stand before Pharaoh and deliver what was sure to be an unpopular message, but God was not so sympathetic. God was ready to enable and empower his newly called spokesman, but Moses continued to give the Lord one excuse after another. Moses, like us, was quick to focus on his weaknesses, his fears, and his past failures. But God, as always, was ready to supply all that was needed for all he commanded. After Moses protested that he could not do the job because he was “not eloquent” and was “slow of speech”, the Sovereign God put everything in perspective when he replied, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth” (Exodus 4:10-12). So the next time you feel reluctant, fearful or inadequate to do what you know Scripture calls you to do, remember that God will always supply what is needed as you step up with faith and obedience to do what he commands.

-- Pastor Mike

Consideration

It is unfortunate that we often treat God with less respect and consideration than we treat the people with whom we interact from day to day. This is especially true when it concerns our sin. Were we to come to the realization that we had offended, insulted or sinned against someone at the office or in our neighborhood, most of us would be careful to word a sincere apology, and be quick to express our heartfelt remorse. “I am so sorry!” and “Please forgive me!” would be the natural and immediate expressions of our hearts and our mouths. It is tragic that our relationship with God is often very different. It is not uncommon to hear Christians respond to the realizations of their sin with statements like “I’ll work on that,” or “I should really try to do better.” It is as though God were a concept or a standard that we were attempting to live up to, rather than a holy Person whom we have offended. In contrast, the Bible pleads with God’s people to “Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously’” (Hosea 14:2). Jesus ordered this kind of direct and daily appeal to God when he taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven… forgive our debts” (Matthew 6:12). Let us be careful then, to thoughtfully and sincerely express our regret to God each time his Spirit brings another of our transgressions into view. God, of all people, certainly deserves our sincerest apologies.

-- Pastor Mike

Holiness

The concern for most Christians isn’t “How far from sin can I get?” but rather, “How close is okay?” Anyone who is thoughtful about obedience and wants to distance himself from temptation and sinful behavior is sure to incite the charge of being “a misguided legalist” – as if the accuser knows what biblical legalism is. He usually doesn’t. But it sounds like a good “put-you-in-your-place” Christian comeback. And often it works. The one pursuing holiness is embarrassed, while the libertines feel empowered to continue to banner their form of “grace” as an excuse for their compromise and their love of the world and the things of the world. Compare the familiar license of “do what you want, cause you’re forgiven” with this charge of one New Testament Christian to another: “I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus… to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ… who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:13-15). Unlike today’s attempts at “counsel”, this kind of “charge” doesn’t result in a casual and careless approach to sanctification. The goal is clearly not “as much fun as possible” but instead, “Let us reverentially pursue as much holiness as possible!”

Real Missions

The Book of Acts is a story about first century Christians who, by today’s popular standards, would be considered brash, judgmental, narrow-minded zealots who were fueled by some sort of spiritual imperialism devoid of any real empathy, care or compassion. That theoretical assessment comes largely from today’s redefinition of “care and compassion”, as well as our monumental misunderstanding of what “biblical missions” is and isn’t. Today we like to talk about “respectfully reaching out in love” or “extending compassion in the name of Christ”; proclamation has given way to “polite conversation” and “preaching” is considered a bad word. A certain modern “evangelical missionary” sought to help me understand missions when she said, “It doesn’t matter what we say to the people, it’s just being there that counts.” These sentiments may sound “gracious”, but they have nothing to do with the grace we are called to herald regarding a crucified and resurrected King of kings. The Acts of the Apostles tell us of Christ’s Ambassadors boldly moving from city to city, resolutely calling people to repudiate their gods, their idols and their self-interests, instructing them to repent and turn to Jesus Christ so that they by faith might be graciously exempted from the coming wrath of God. Understandably this did not “go over well” in many cities. The Acts missionary teams were forcefully ejected from several cities – a response that with today’s mindset would require a “modern care extender” to retool her approach, not to mention her message. But much like firefighters attempting to rouse sleeping tenants in a burning building, true love and real compassion isn’t measured by pleasant inter-ethnic dialogue, amiable “moments” and feel-good photo ops, it is biblically measured by the clarity and urgency with which we proclaim our message of eternal life and death.

-- Pastor Mike

Keeping Grace In View

We are prone to forget, especially as we compare our relative righteousness, that our salvation is all of grace. We must never fail to remember that everything about our lives – our spiritual efforts, our moral resumes and our celebrated accomplishments – are all exchanged for Christ’s. Our salvation is secured in the same way as the “jail cell convert” or “deathbed penitent”. All that we are and all that we have done are substituted for Christ. We must not forget to continually count everything a loss and count our good deeds as rubbish, in order that we may gain Christ and be found in him, not have a righteousness of our own (Philippians 3:8). Our acts of “righteousness” count for nothing; Christ is all that counts! Such a mindset will keep everything in perspective. We will have no room for pride or questioning God’s “fairness”. Keeping the grace of salvation in view will leave us in a place of humble worship and thanksgiving, right where we should be.

Spiritual Endeavors

To the sympathetic reader, the last scene in Acts 15:36-41 appears to be an event brimming with high personal drama and raw emotions. Certainly language such as “sharp disagreement” (Acts 15:39) leads our hearts in that direction. But besides that single phrase, all the other words and phrases in the passage that describe Paul and Barnabas’ parting of ways are calm, thoughtful, dispassionate and strategic. It is impossible for us to know now how much “heat” was actually involved in this serious team breakdown, but the end result should show us that no matter how much there may have been, it didn’t impede their tactical thinking and the God-empowered results that followed. You see, God has always been training his people to approach any important task, not as an “individual conqueror” but as a person with a team (Genesis 2:18; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Proverbs 27:17; et al.). Paul clearly demonstrated this principle when he hit this impasse. Concluding that if God’s important work was to be done, he wouldn’t simply dump his previous ministry partners Barnabas and John-Mark and proceed on his own, rather he would choose a new team to work with him side-by-side. Silas was picked first, and on their first stop in Derbe and Lystra their “third strand” for the work of ministry was added, the young Timothy. So whether it’s a prayer ministry or a missions endeavor, a Sunday School class or leading a church youth program, don’t go it alone. Build a team. If things change and teams collapse over a reasoned yet “sharp” disagreement, then rebuild. Don’t wallow or live in the past. Get your team together and get going. Our time is running out.

-- Pastor Mike

Exalting Evil?

One of the challenges of living a godly life in an ungodly world, is the pressure we face when the world perpetually exalts those who are evil, and expects the rest of us to applaud. As with Isaiah, we live in a culture filled with “those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Jesus made it clear that “what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke16:15). Making appraisals from a biblical perspective will not be popular, but necessary for those who walk with Christ. God’s heroes are not hailed by society. They never have been. They are those who are “afflicted and mistreated,” and yet Scripture extols them as those “of whom the world is not worthy” (Hebrews 11:37-38). There are many spiritual reasons the world exalts those who defy God’s rules. Not the least of which is their sinful desire to mitigate the pangs of conviction. Members of society can feel better about their transgressions when their heroes are avant-garde sinners. Though they know “that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Romans 1:32). Sin is shameful. We should be remorseful when we fall. And we should certainly never applaud those who defiantly make sinning their habit.